Dharmendra, Mammootty, Rohit Sharma, and more: Top names on the Padma Awardees 2026 list
The Padma Awards — which are the highest civilian honours after the revered Bharat Ratna — were announced on Sunday, the eve of the Republic Day 2026. Here are the top names that have featured on the list of recipients.
Sufi poet Baba Bulleh Shah’s shrine vandalised in Mussoorie’s Bala Hissar; Public access restricted, security deployed
A shrine built in the name of Sufi poet Baba Bulleh Shah was vandalised by unidentified miscreants late Saturday night in the Bala Hissar area of Mussoorie. As a precautionary measure, police personnel have been deployed at the site, and public access to the area has been restricted.
Indian Air Force Group Captain and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla awarded Ashoka Chakra
Indian Air Force Group Captain and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla awarded the Ashoka Chakra.
‘A towering voice of journalism’: PM Modi condoles Padma Bhushan-winning broadcaster Mark Tully’s death
Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1935, years before India gained independence, Tully served as the chief of the BBC’s New Delhi bureau for over two decades. He was also the presenter for the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘Something Understood’.
Republic Day 2026 Traffic Advisory: Full list of restricted roads, routes to avoid in Delhi NCR; check Metro timings here
Delhi Police have issued traffic advisory ahead of 77th Republic Day celebration on 26 January. From tonight onwards, traffic restrictions will come into force and remain in place throughout the parade tomorrow.
Vance calls Minneapolis unrest ‘engineered chaos’ after deadly shooting
Vice President JD Vance called the unrest in Minnesota “engineered chaos” in the wake of another fatal, federal agent-involved shooting over the weekend. On Saturday, 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse who was carrying a licensed handgun while protesting a federal immigration enforcement operation, was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Authorities say Pretti resisted arrest after trying to intervene in the operation. In response to the shooting, Vance accused “far-left agitators working with local authorities” of creating the conditions that led to the confrontation between Pretti and the border patrol agents. SENATE DEMS REVOLT AGAINST DHS FUNDING BILL AMID MINNEAPOLIS CHAOS, HIKING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN RISK “This level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis,” Vance said in a post on X. “It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities.” His remarks come as a familiar network of far-left groups mobilize nationwide, often coalescing around disparate causes. FAMILIAR GROUPS MOBILIZE IMMEDIATELY AFTER ICE SHOOTING OF MINNESOTA PROTESTER In Minneapolis, the unrest intensified after the shooting, leading several local officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, to call on the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration to pull Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from the city. Walz said in a post on X that he spoke with the White House “after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning.” “Minnesota has had it,” Walz said. “This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.” On Sunday, Walz said: “Minnesota believes in law and order. We believe in peace,” and called on Trump to pull “untrained agents” out of the state. But the White House wasn’t keen on budging. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to local leadership calling for the withdrawal of federal law enforcement from Minnesota, writing on X that the focus should not be on removing officers but on removing “dangerous criminal illegal aliens” from the state. “The Democrats have their priorities completely upside down. They will not keep the American people safe,” Leavitt wrote. ICE OFFICERS INJURED AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT STRIKES AGENTS Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said Pretti approached agents while armed with a 9 mm pistol and two magazines and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him, prompting one agent to fire. Local video footage and eyewitness accounts, however, appear to show Pretti holding only his phone before he was pepper-sprayed and pinned to the ground, raising questions about the government’s account of the encounter. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that she grieves for Pretti’s family and vowed a thorough investigation. “We can’t have individuals that are impeding law enforcement operations and then showing up with guns and weapons and no ID and confronting law enforcement like that,” Noem said. “It is one of the reasons that we see situations like this unfold.” He was shot several times and pronounced dead at the scene. State officials later said Pretti had a lawful permit to carry the firearm. Minnesota Democrats pushed back on the White House’s characterization, arguing the federal operation escalated tensions and endangered residents, including those not targeted by immigration enforcement.
Trump hails ‘great and very brave’ UK soldiers after slamming NATO allies’ Afghanistan service
President Donald Trump praised the soldiers of the United Kingdom who served alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan on Saturday, clarifying his previous criticism of NATO allies. Trump had earlier criticized NATO troops who served in Afghanistan, arguing they had stayed “a little bit back” from the frontlines during the conflict. His statement was met with outrage in the U.K., however, where Prime Minister Kier Starmer called it “insulting and frankly, appalling.” “The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you all, and always will!” he continued. THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S UK VISIT SHOULDN’T BE UNDERESTIMATED The social media post partially walks back his previous criticism of NATO, made during an interview on Fox Business. “We have never really asked anything of them,” he said. “You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that, and they did. They stayed a little back, little off the front lines.” Starmer’s office says the prime minister raised the issue with Trump during a phone call this weekend. UK READY TO SEND TROOPS, JETS, SHIPS IF TRUMP CLINCHES UKRAINE CEASEFIRE, DEFENSE CHIEF SAYS “The Prime Minister raised the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home,” a spokesperson said. “We must never forget their sacrifice.” Trump’s initial remarks also drew a direct rebuke from Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan. “I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there,” Harry said. “Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defense of diplomacy and peace,” he added.
Judge blocks Trump admin from ‘destroying or altering’ evidence in deadly Minneapolis shooting
A federal judge in Minnesota has blocked the Trump administration from “destroying or altering evidence” related to a deadly shooting involving a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday. The ruling came after the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension filed a lawsuit Saturday to prevent the destruction of evidence in the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident killed by a Border Patrol agent during an immigration enforcement operation. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Pretti approached Border Patrol agents armed with a 9 mm pistol and “violently resisted” when they attempted to disarm him. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, names DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and U.S. Border Control, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi, as defendants. TRUMP CITES ARMED SUSPECT, LACK OF POLICE SUPPORT FOLLOWING FATAL BORDER PATROL SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS The groups, represented by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, said the litigation is accompanied by a motion for a temporary restraining order that asks the court to immediately prevent the defendants from destroying any evidence related to the shooting. In granting the temporary injunction, Judge Eric Tostrud wrote that federal officials and those acting on their behalf cannot destroy evidence taken from the scene of the south Minneapolis shooting or now in their exclusive custody, which state authorities say they were previously barred from inspecting. Tostrud scheduled a hearing Monday to review the order. “As I said earlier today, I will not rest, my team will not rest, until we have done everything in our power, everything within our authority, to achieve transparency and accountability,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “Our office has jurisdiction to review this matter for potential criminal conduct by the federal agents involved and we will do so.” Moriarty added that the lawsuit is just one of the actions her office is taking “to ensure that a thorough and transparent investigation can be completed at the state level.” READ IT: BONDI SENDS WARNING LETTER TO GOV WALZ WARNING MINNESOTA’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES ENDANGER AGENTS In announcing the litigation, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asserted that “federal agents are not above the law and Alex Pretti is certainly not beneath it.” “A full, impartial, and transparent investigation into his fatal shooting at the hands of DHS agents is non-negotiable,” he said in a statement. “Minnesota law enforcement is currently carrying out such an investigation, and it is essential that the evidence collected by federal agents is preserved and turned over to state officials. Today’s lawsuit aims to bar the federal government from destroying or tampering with any of the evidence they have collected.” Ellison added that “justice will be done.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for comment. In a separate statement, Ellison said he shares “intense grief and anger” that Pretti was shot and killed during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge. APPEALS COURT HANDS TRUMP ADMIN ‘VICTORY’ IN MINNESOTA ICE FORCE RESTRICTIONS CASE He said his office will argue in court Monday to end “this illegal and unconstitutional occupation of our cities and the terror and violence it’s inflicting.” The Department of Homeland Security said it is leading the investigation into the shooting. Pretti was a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse. Though medics immediately delivered aid, Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
New Democratic group pushes fresh faces as party’s brand sinks to historic lows
Democrats are rolling out The Bench — a new political group pushing a crop of rising star candidates aiming to remake the party. The organization, which was formally launched earlier this month by a handful of campaign veterans, says its mission is to spend resources to build a bench full of candidates, which they highlight as “the future of the Democratic Party.” The launch of the new group comes as Democrats aim to win back House and Senate majorities in this year’s midterm elections, but as the party also suffers from historically low favorability and approval ratings. The party in power in Washington, D.C., which this year is clearly the GOP, normally faces stiff political headwinds in the midterm elections. And the latest national polls indicate that President Donald Trump‘s approval ratings remain well underwater, fueled in part by Americans’ continued deep concerns over persistent inflation. DEMOCRATS EYE NARROW AND UPHILL PATH TO SENATE MAJORITY But Democrats have their own polling problems, with a slew of surveys dating back a year indicating the party’s brand hitting historic lows. The Bench, in a statement, says the candidates they’re backing “can help us repair our brand, they are best positioned to win general election races and hold onto seats.” The group plans to provide these candidates “with the tools, strategy, and support to run serious, solutions-focused campaigns that challenge the status quo, connect with voters, and deliver real results for the people they serve.” CALL TO DUTY: IN BATTLE FOR HOUSE, REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS LOOKING TO VETERANS The group, which includes well-known Democratic operative and strategist Lis Smith and communications specialist Andrew Mamo, has been working for months to recruit and build up three Senate candidates and a dozen House contenders. The Senate candidates are Michigan state Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow, Texas state lawmaker and Presbyterian seminarian James Talarico and Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, a Paralympian wheelchair basketball player. In House races, the group is backing Jamie Ager in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, Shannon Bird in Colorado’s 8th District, Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania’s 7th District, Cait Conley in New York’s 17th District and Mike Cortese in Tennessee’s 5th District. FIRED UNDER TRUMP, THESE TWO FORMER TOP MILITARY OFFICES HAVE A NEW MISSION: RUN FOR CONGRESS AS DEMOCRATS The list also includes Sam Forstag in Montana’s 1st District, Sarah Trone Garriott in Iowa’s 3rd District, Matt Maasdam in Michigan’s 7th District, Darren McAuley in Florida’s 15th District, Denise Blaya Powell in Nebraska’s 2nd District and Bobby Pulidio in Texas’ 15th District. And this week, the group backed Nancy Lacore in South Carolina’s 1st District. Lacore, a 35-year military veteran who served as a Navy helicopter pilot and later as chief of the Navy Reserve, a 60,000-person force, was removed from her post last August by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The group notes that the candidates they’re supporting range from progressives to centrists. “These candidates aren’t united by ideology, but by a willingness to break from Democratic defaults, speak honestly to their communities, and compete seriously in places the party has too often written off,” the group said. But Mike Marinella, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Fox News Digital, “The Democrat Party is a broken brand, and they’re stitching it together with deeply radical candidates. They’re too woke for the working class, too weak to get anything done and too lost to get out of the wilderness.”
GOP Sen. Cassidy breaks with Trump over deadly shooting by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., called for a full investigation after a federal agent fatally shot a man who was allegedly armed in Minneapolis on Saturday, calling the incident “incredibly disturbing.” Cassidy joined a chorus of Democratic lawmakers raising questions following the shooting death of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Alex J. Pretti, who was killed by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday. Pretti allegedly confronted officers during a Department of Homeland Security operation in south Minneapolis and was carrying a gun, according to the agency. “The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing,” Cassidy said in a post on X. “The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation.” Cassidy added that “we can trust the American people with the truth.” TRUMP BRIEFED ON BORDER PATROL-INVOLVED SHOOTING AS MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR DEMANDS END TO ENFORCEMENT OPERATION The Louisiana Republican’s comments were seemingly at odds with members of his party, including President Donald Trump, who said in a post on Truth Social following the shooting that federal agents “had to protect themselves” because of the lack of support from local police in Minneapolis. “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go—What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?” Trump wrote in the post. “The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves—Not an easy thing to do!” Last week, Trump pledged his endorsement for U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow if she were to enter the GOP primary in Louisiana, challenging Cassidy, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015. Letlow launched her Senate bid days later. NOEM SAYS MINNEAPOLIS SUSPECT COMMITTED ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM,’ ACCUSES WALZ, FREY OF INCITING VIOLENCE Cassidy was one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump after the House impeached him in 2021. The Senate vote ultimately fell short of the threshold required to convict Trump. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during a news conference Saturday that the incident had occurred while DHS officers carried out “targeted operations” in Minneapolis against an illegal immigrant with a violent criminal history. “An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun,” Noem said. “The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently,” Noem said. “Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots.” BLOCKING ICE COOPERATION FUELED MINNESOTA UNREST, OFFICIALS WARN AS VIRGINIA REVERSES COURSE Noem said Pretti had “two magazines with ammunition in them that held dozens of rounds” and no identification, adding that “this looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” She said DHS is investigating the shooting “just like we do all other officer-involved shootings,” adding that additional details would be forthcoming. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during a news conference Saturday that “we need ICE out of Minnesota,” while placing blame on the Trump administration. “I have personally warned them that there would be more deaths, that more of this would happen,” she said. “And clearly they’re not listening. So, we ask people around the country to talk to their Republican representatives to make clear that this is not the America that is ours. This has got to stop.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Klobuchar’s comments in an X post Saturday, saying federal agents should not be removed from Minnesota. “We need dangerous criminal illegal aliens out of Minnesota. The Democrats have their priorities completely upside down. They will not keep the American people safe,” she wrote. In his own post, Vice President JD Vance blamed “far left agitators” for the recent unrest in Minneapolis. “This level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis,” he posted on X Saturday evening. “It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment. Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.